Sheet-feeding mechanism.



L. E. MORRISON. SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED .TAN.1'T, 1908.

I Patented Jan. 9, 1912'.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

auvau co a wm c ow L. E. MORRISON. SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 1?,"1908.

Patented Jan, 9,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 5 $0M Gwen (m x unrrnn sra'rns Parana curios.

IIAEWIS E. MORRISON, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 AUTOMATIC PLATED?- PRESS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A GORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

snnnr-rnnmive MECHANISM.

' Specification of Letters Ieten't.

Patented Jan. 9.,

Original application filed January 2, 1907, Serial i io. 350,516. Divided and this application filed January 17, 1903. Serial No. 4211,2427. I v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS E. MORRISON, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the city of Newark, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in finest-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanisms for separating the bottom sheet from a pile and presenting the thus separated sheet to any adjacent machine or mechanism such as for instance a. printing machine,

The subject matter of this invention is divided out from application for improvements in printing machines-patented May 30, 1911, Number 993,612.

The object of this invention is to provide :1 sheet feeding mechanism of unimproved high speed type, and the particular improvements reside in the novel features, elements of construction as well as the mode of operation, which contribute to the desired result, and which will be pointed out fully in the claims, while the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings clearly set, forth and illustrate my invention -in detail.

In the said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a printing machine equipped with my feeding mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a feeding mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, while Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of the suction mechanism which I employ.

Referring to Fig.1- which shows the printing machine described in the above cited application, it should be kept in mind that itis shown for the purpose .of this disclosure only and that all unnecessary details have' been omitted. In the said figure, the reference numeral 1 indicates the general frame therein, side gages as 12, 13 and a rear gage 14: are provided. These gages are adjustable as shown and may be of any Sliltiibltfi or convenient construction, the rear gage is provided with fingers as 15 for the support of the rear edges of the sheets, the body i which rests directly on a plurality of mi 16. These rollers are preferably of hate wood or similar material, well finished, and. are pivoted in the side frames 12' in such a manner that they will rotate'frcely, that is, these rollers are. not in frictional contact with one another. The frames 1? form the main support of the feeding mechanism and are suitably fastened to the shaft 7. The

carriage travels in grooves 18 in the frames 17 and the rollers 16 are grooved at 15) to permitlfree passage of'thc fingers 15.

The suction mechanism which I employ to separate the bottom sheet from the pack is carried by one of the rollers 16, in. the drawing indicated by 20. This roller is provided with a plurality of rooves 21 in whichrestthe branches 22 ofthe suction pipe 23 in such-a manner that they form no obstruction to the passage of the sheetsover the rollers.- Suction is applied by means of the pump 24 connected to the pipe 2?} by the flexible connection 25. The operating mechanism for the pump is not shown as the same may belof any; convenient type easily supplied b yIthuso skilled in the art. The suction is of course, applied once to every revolution of the machine, As will be later on pointed out the suction pipes oscillate inde:

pendently around the roller 20. Tothis end the one end of the pipe 23 is closed with a rod 26 which extends through a slot 9.? in

crank extendsupwardly and is adapted. to be acted upon by the cam 3101-1 the one 5 do 39 on shaft40 driven from the main shaft of the carriage. The spring 32 keeps the bell crank and the suction pipes in their normal position. From this it will be seen that as the carriage advances the cam will engage the arm 30 and the suction pipes will oscillate downwardly.

-Before describing the operation of the mechanism, it s .11, I e noted that the carriage is recipro ed by means of the links 33 pivotally connected to. the ends otthe arms 34, see Fig 1, which are fast on the rock shaft 35, which latter is rocked through the instrumentality of the arm 36 fast on said rock-shaft and connected to the bar 37 carrying ca m roll 38 cooperating with cam tion. Adjacent the roller 20 there is further located the two guide orfeed rolls 43, 4:42, which rotate constantly in two opposite directions and one of which is driven positively by being extended through the side frame, outside of which it carries the pinion 45, which is driven from the main shaft7 by the intermediate gear 46. Above the roll-43 there is fixed a separating shield 47, which may be carried by the transverse rod 4-8 or otherwise fixed. The two guide rolls are of course so placed that they do not touch the adjacent other rollers.

The operation is as follows: The pack of sheets are placed and positioned in the carriage, so that their front edges rest preferably directly over the openings of thelsuction pipes 22. As thecarriage starts upon its travel, the suction is applied and the lowermostsheet separated. At the same time the cam 31 acts to oscillate these pipes downwardly. The suction then ceases and by the continued motion of the carriage the bottom sheet is fed into the bite of the feed rollers and from thence out in the direction riage continues to travel over the other rollers 16, the pack of sheets riding over the separating shield 47, the cam 31 keeping the suction pipes all the time turned down. The pack of sheets ,will be so adjusted in the carriage that they will-pass clear out over the suction roller on the movement to the right in Fig.2, because the bottom sheet must be given time to pass completely away from underneath the sheets before these latter, on the movement to the left, again pass over the suction roller, hence the layer of rollers extends for a distance at least twice as long as the length of the longest sheet to be handled by the press. Next the carriage returns to its starting position and the mechanism is ready to act upon the next sheet.

It is thought that the above clearly describes my invention and the mode of operation. It will be seen that the sheets move all the time upon a rotating support composed of the layer of rollers which rotate in either direction as the carriage reciprocates, so that there is no or very little friction, also that the suction mechanism proper is operated independently of the other mechanism while the feed rolls are constantly rotated independently of the motion of the other rollers. It has been found in-practice that this feeding. mechanism operates with very little noise and with great accuracy. By reason of the upward run of the pack of sheets, it hardly ever happens that more than one sheet is separated. Y

The above construction is of course, susceptible of many changes, but I claim all of these, that may come under the scope of this invention and the following. claims.

\Vhat-I claim is: i 1, In a sheet feeding device the combination of a layer of pivoted rollers for supporting the sheets, a separating mechanism carried by one ofthcsaid rollers in the cen-.

ter of the said layer, means for reciprocating the stack of sheets onthe said layer and means for operating the said separating mechanism by the said reciprocating means.

2. In a sheet feeding device the combina tion of a sheet separating means, a layer of rollers extending on either side of the said means and mechanism for reciprocating the sheets on the said layer of rollers.

3. In a sheet feeding device the combination of a sheet separating means, a layer of rollers extending on either side of the said means, and mechanism for reciprocating a pack of sheets on the said rollers and for operating the said separating means.

4. In a sheet feeding device the combination of a separating mechanism, means .for moving a pack of sheets over and past the said mechanism and rotatable members for supporting the sheets on both sides of-the said mechanism.

5; In a sheet feeding mechanism the combination of a separatingdevice, means for moving apack of sheets over and past the said device, rotatable members for supporting the sheets on both sides of the said device and means for oscillating the latter "from the said moving means.

6. In a sheet feeding mechanism the'com- 'bination of a rcciprocatingcarriage adapted to receive-a pack of sheets, a layer of rotatable rollers for supporting the 1 said sheets, a separating mechanism carried by one of the said rollers, means for oscillating the said mechanism independently of its supporting roller, a plurality of feed rolls and means for operating the latter.

7. In a sheet feeding mechanism the com-.

bination of a reciprocating carriage adapted to receive a pack of sheets, means for moving and guiding the said carriage, means for separating the lowermost sheet,

means for actuating said separatitng means from the said carriage, a plurality of rollers supporting the said sheets and adapted to rotate in the same direction as the said carriage travels, a fixed separating shield interposed between the said separating means and one of the said rollers, a pair of V positively driven feed rolls and means for operating the latter constantly in one direction.

8. In a sheet feeding device the combination of a separating mechanism, means for I moving a pack of sheets over the same and a layer of rotatable rollers extending on either side of the said mechanism and adapted to rotate in the same direction as thesheets travel and to remain at rest when. the sheets are atrest.

9. In a sheet feeding and separating device the combination of a reciprocating carriage adapted to receive a pack of sheets,

separate means for supporting the edge of the sheets in the said carriage, a layer of pivoted rollers for supporting said sheets both When the carriage is in motion and at rest and provided with grooves to permit thefree passage of the aforesaid edge sup porting means, a separating mechanism comprising suction pipes and means for oscillating the same bythe action of the said carriage, the said separating mechanism'belng mounted on one of the sald rollers, a

fixed sheet separating shield adjacent the said separating mechanism-and a plurality of driven feed rolls. v

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 11 day of Jan, 1908.

LEWIS E. MORRISON.

Witnesses IVAN KoNIGsBnRs, GEO. A. HOFFMAN. 

